Paramahansa Yogananda Quotes

He arrived in America in 1920 and gave lectures in various cities. Hundreds of thousands came to hear his lectures.

Paramahansa Yogananda introduced the west to the teachings of meditation and Kriya Yoga. His most known book is 'Autobiography of a Yogi'.

Paramahansa Yogananda Quotes on Meditation

1. "To meditate a short time with depth is better than to meditate for long hours with the mind running wild."

2. "Meditate more and more deeply, until calmness and joy become second nature to you."

3. "Don’t feel badly if you find yourself too restless to meditate deeply. Calmness will come in time, if you practice regularly. Just never accept the thought that meditation is not for you. Remember, calmness is your eternal, true nature."

4. "Before embarking on important undertakings sit quietly calm your senses and thoughts and meditate deeply. You will then be guided by the great creative power of Spirit."

5. "Meditation is like giving a hug to our ourselves, getting in touch with that awesome reality in us. While meditating we feel a deep sense of intimacy with God, a love that is inexplicable."

6. "He who is persistent will realize God. So try your best to make meditation a regular experience in your life."

7. "The soul loves to meditate, for in contact with the Spirit lies its greatest joy. If, then you experience mental resistance during meditation, remember that reluctance to meditate comes from the ego; it doesn’t belong to the soul."

8. "Before embarking on important undertakings sit quietly calm your senses and thoughts and meditate deeply. You will then be guided by the great creative power of Spirit."

9. "If you retain the joyous after effects of meditation throughout the day, or part of the day, you will see that this joy will correctly guide you in everything. Saints are guided by this joy, in the consciousness of which no erroneous actions are possible. Retain the acquired joy of meditation throughout the day."

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Paramahansa Yogananda Quotes on Love and Compassion

10. "Love is the light that dissolves all walls between souls, families and nations."

11. "Kindness is the light that dissolves all walls between souls, families, and nations."

12. "There is a magnet in your heart that will attract true friends. That magnet is unselfishness, thinking of others first; when you learn to live for others, they will live for you."

13. "Purity, patience, and preserverance are the three essentials to success, and above all, love."

14. "Many people excuse their own faults but judge other persons harshly. We should reverse this attitude by excusing others’ shortcomings and by harshly examining our own."

Paramahansa Yogananda Quotes on Success

15. "The things you need in life are those that will help you to fulfill your dominant purpose. Things you may want but not need may lead you aside from that purpose. It is only by making everything serve your main objective that success is attained."

16. "The season of failure is the best time for sowing the seeds of success."

17. "Faithfulness in the performance of small duties gives us strength to adhere to difficult determinations that life will someday force us to make."

18. Your thoughts will inevitably bring you either to failure or to success?—?according to which thought is the strongest.

19. Success is hastened or delayed by one's habits. It is not your passing inspirations or brilliant ideas so much as your everyday mental habits that control your life.

20. Perseverance is the whole magic of spiritual success.

21. Success is not rightly measured by the worldly standards of wealth, prestige and power. None of these bestow happiness unless they are rightly used. To use them rightly one must possess wisdom and love for God and man.

Paramahansa Yogananda Quotes on Calmness

22. "Learn to be calm and you will always be happy."

23. "Remain calm, serene, always in command of yourself. You will then find out how easy it is to get along."

24. "Retire to the center of your being, which is calmness."

25. "Most of the world is like a mental hospital. Some persons are sick with jealousy, others with anger, hatred, passion. They are victims of their habits and emotions. But you can make your home a place of peace."

Paramahansa Yogananda Quotes on Happiness

26. "If you want to be sad, no one in the world can make you happy. But if you make up your mind to be happy, no one and nothing on earth can take that happiness from you."

29. "Making others happy, through kindness of speech and sincerity of right advice, is a sign of true greatness. To hurt another soul by sarcastic words, looks, or suggestions, is despicable."

30. "Be as simple as you can be; you will be astonished to see how uncomplicated and happy your life can become."

31. "Essentially, conditions are neither good nor bad; they are always neutral, seeming to be either depressing or encouraging because of the sad or bright attitude of the mind of the individual concerned with them."

32. "If you possess happiness you possess everything. To be happy is to be in tune with God."

Paramahansa Yogananda Quotes on Mind and Thoughts

33. "Since you alone are responsible for your thoughts, only you can change them."

34. "Never do anything that taints your mind. Wrong actions cause negative or evil mental vibrations that are reflected in your whole appearance and personality. Engage in those actions and thoughts that nurture the good qualities you want to have."

35. "Watch your consciousness. Develop the habit of self-examination, of watching and analyzing your thoughts and behaviour. When there are tell-tale signs of bad habits or inclinations, that is the time to discriminate and resist with will power."

36. "Thinkers do not accept the inevitable; they turn their efforts toward changing it."

37. "Change your thoughts if you wish to change your circumstances. Since you alone are responsible for your thoughts, only you can change them."

38. "The body is literally manufactured and sustained by mind."

39. "If you permit your thoughts to dwell on evil you yourself will become ugly. Look only for the good in everything so you absorb the quality of beauty."

40. "The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly."

41. "Live quietly in the moment and see the beauty of all before you. The future will take care of itself."

42. "When you transform your consciousness into divine consciousness so that you feel for everyone else's well-being as you feel for yourself, when all the world becomes your greater self, you will become completely dissociated from the sufferings of your little body. You will behold creation as a sort of dramatic experience in which nothing can hurt you."

43. "Seeds of past karma cannot germinate if they are roasted in the fires of divine wisdom."

44. "Most people consider the course of events as natural and inevitable. They little know what radical change are possible through prayer. Every morning I offer my body, my mind and any ability that I posses, to be used by Thee, O infinite creator, in whatever way Thou dost choose to express Thyself through me. I know that all work is Thy work, and that no task is too difficult or too menial when offered to Thee in loving service."

45. "Those persons who have perceptive eyes enjoy beauty everywhere."

46. "Is a diamond less valuable because it is covered with mud? God sees the changeless beauty of our souls. He knows we are not our mistakes."

47. "Truth can be stated in a thousand different ways, yet each one can be true."

48. "It is spiritual poverty, not material lack, that lies at the core of all human suffering."

49. "Wise guidance never violates people's Free Will. A superior who demands obedience of his subordinates should show respect for their capacity to understand, and also for their Innate Right to their own Free Will."

50. "The world is the great gymnasium where we come to make ourselves strong."

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These quotes have been published by Remez Sasson, the author and creator of Success Consciousness website.

Remez Sasson writes articles and books that teach how to develop and use one's mental tools, skills and inner powers, to create a happy and successful life, attain inner strength, and enjoy peace of mind.